An Activity for All Ages

When I was growing up, my siblings and I often worked on jigsaw puzzles. I remember sitting on the floor and working together, sometimes challenging each other to find the piece that fit into a certain spot. It was such an exhilarating feeling to finally put in the last piece of a 1,000-piece puzzle! 

Sometime early in my career when I was teaching preschoolers, I remember reading about the value of jigsaw puzzles and how they helped students become better at math. So I made sure we had puzzles on our shelf for students to work on either individually or with their classmates. I saw that it helped my students with many skills such as spatial awareness, classifying, noticing details and observing differences in shapes or colors, working together, and persevering. There was such a sense of accomplishment when students completed a puzzle. 

When I became a mom, working together with my sons on jigsaw puzzles was one of my favorite activities. We often talked story, listened to music, or sang songs while we worked.  Sometimes it took several days to complete; this was a great way for my sons to learn about persistence and stamina. My favorite puzzle story is when Justin and Jarand were little. We gave them money to buy Christmas presents for each other, and Justin asked Jarand to get him a teddy bear. When it came time to exchange gifts, Justin was disappointed when he looked at his gift because it was clearly not a teddy bear. When he opened his present, Jarand told him, “I didn’t get you a teddy bear. I got you lots of teddy bears!” We put that teddy bear puzzle together numerous times when the boys were little. A few years ago, I shared the story with our grandsons, and we worked together to complete it while they were visiting Hawaii. 

When the pandemic closed down many activities, I was looking for things to do at home. I had books to read, a book to write (soon to be published!), and other things to do around the house, but I still had free time. We received a Beatles puzzle in December (my husband is a huge fan), and I worked on it for a few days. I realized how much I had missed working on jigsaw puzzles, although I couldn’t work for extended periods of time because my back and my legs would begin to hurt; we didn’t have a separate table that would fit the puzzle pieces, so working on the floor (which was fine when I was younger) was a challenge. 

Fortunately, I found an app for my iPad called Jigsaw Puzzles. I didn’t have to buy anything, and there are lots of different puzzles to choose from. I don’t need to store boxes of puzzles, and I don’t need extra space to work on them. It offers options - number of pieces as well as the ability to rotate the pieces - so youngsters or oldsters can choose puzzles to work on. In the past few months, I’ve completed about one puzzle per day. Some are more challenging than others, but I find myself focused and calm when I am working on one. Yes, it can get frustrating and sometimes I have to stop for a bit and do something else, but I always go back and complete the puzzle. That is one app that I am glad I found! 

I hope that everyone can see the value of jigsaw puzzles, an activity for all ages!